Galatians 1:1-5
1Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen
Reflection
Our scripture genre today is letter. Letters make up a good
portion of the New Testament. On the whole thy were meant to be letters to be read to a congregation. Because of this we get an insiders look at the early church with information that is helpful for all Christians, but also can find moments when it feels like we are reading someone else’s mail.. Each letter has a particular author and audience. After the author, audience, and structure of an epistle are established, we can then proceed to discover its meaning for our lives. But we must do so carefully, for some teachings in the Bible are culturally mandated to specific audiences. Why do you think it is important to look at the cultural standards as well as the context in the letters of scripture?
